


The Ten Duel Commandments

by ezazahaz



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst, Duelling, Hamilton Lyrics, M/M, Songfic, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-13 05:30:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18025622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ezazahaz/pseuds/ezazahaz
Summary: “Are you going to apologize?”“No.”“Then you leave me no choice. Duel. Pistols. Dawn.”Steve made a sound, immediately cut off. Tony finally looked at him, but the blue eyes only showed determination. “Fine. Dawn.”Inspired by the song “The Ten Duel Commandments” from Hamilton. However, this duel begins for rather different reasons than the duels in the musical, and also ends rather differently.





	The Ten Duel Commandments

_**Number one** _  
_The challenge, demand satisfaction_  
_If they apologize, no need for further action_  


“So.” Tony glared at the ground near Steve, unable to bring himself to even look at the other man.

“So.” Steve’s voice was empty of inflection.

“Are you going to apologize?”

“No.”

“Then you leave me no choice. Duel. Pistols. Dawn.”

Steve made a sound, immediately cut off. Tony finally looked at him, but the blue eyes only showed determination. “Fine. Dawn.”

_**Number two**_  
_If they don’t, grab a friend, that’s your second_  
_Your lieutenant when there’s reckoning to be reckoned_

“Tony, is he really worth this?” Rhodes asked. 

“This duel is happening, Rhodey. Are you going to be my second or do I need to find someone else?”

“You do that and Rogers will be the least of your worries.” He put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You know I’m behind you all the way, Tones.”

_**Number three**_  
_Have your seconds meet face to face_  
_Negotiate a peace_  
_Or negotiate a time and place_  
_This is commonplace, ‘specially ‘tween recruits_  
_Most disputes die, and no one shoots_

Rhodes stared in shock and anger at the man in front of him. “You.”

“Me,” Barnes said. Then, quieter, “I don’t need two arms to be someone’s second.”

“Still, I thought Rogers would have more tact than this, sending the man who started all this.”

“Steve made a choice. Stark’s the one who thought it needed to come to this.”

“So your boy’s gonna apologize and end it without bloodshed, then?”

Barnes stared at him, his blue-grey eyes dark, haunted.

Rhodey waited.

“No,” the other man finally answered. “Duel’s on.”

_**Number four**_  
_If they don’t reach a peace, that’s alright_  
_Time to get some pistols and a doctor on site_  
_You pay him in advance, you treat him with civility_  
_You have him turn around so he can have deniability_

Rhodes thought the duel was a bad idea, but wouldn’t let Tony go through it without him.

Tony’s other good friend, Dr. Banner, had different thoughts.

“I’m not going to watch you get yourself killed.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Brucie. And you don’t actually have to watch, just be there. For after.”

The soft-spoken man’s fists tightened, and his voice cracked. “I can’t, Tony. I just... Don’t make me do that. Ask Dr. Cho; she won’t ask questions, and she’s not...”

Not a friend.

“Okay,” Tony agreed. “I understand.”

As he started turning to go, Bruce pulled him back for a tight hug.

_**Five**_  
_Duel before the sun is in the sky_  
_Pick a place to die where it’s high and dry_

The eerie light of pre-dawn, combined with the layer of fog over the ground, made for a bleak setting as Tony slowly climbed the hill, flanked by his best friend and a doctor he barely knew.

The others were already there, and Tony saw his opponent’s second before he saw Steve. The two had their heads bowed toward each other, Steve’s right arm on Barnes’ armless left shoulder.

The sight of their closeness squeezed Tony’s heart. He told himself it would all end soon.

_**Number six**_  
_Leave a note for your next of kin_  
_Tell ‘em where you been_  
_Pray that hell or heaven lets you in_

He’d written a letter for Rhodey to deliver, after.

_“My Dearest Virginia,_

_I’m sorry. I know I was never the best brother to you. You did more for me than I ever did for you. Even now, all I can do is leave you my house, full of memories of good times that will never be again, after Steve..._

_Maybe you and Happy can raise a family there. Or sell it, it doesn’t matter._

_Don’t be sad for me. You know it’s better for everyone this way._

_Anthony”_

_**Seven**_  
_Confess your sins_  
_Ready for the moment of adrenaline when you finally face your opponent_

Tony had considered going to church, confessing his sins before the duel. He rarely attended, but this was the kind of situation where even the least devout would hedge their bets for the hereafter.

The problem was, two of Tony’s greatest sins were ones he couldn’t regret: loving another man, and planning to take his own life.

The fact that the man he loved would be the one pulling the trigger probably wouldn’t matter to whoever was making the rulings.

_**Number eight**_  
_Your last chance to negotiate_  
_Send in your seconds, see if they can set the record straight_

“Barnes.”

“Rhodes.”

“Is he going to apologize?”

Barnes gave him that haunted look again, but this time Rhodes thought there was a hint of frustration in it. “No.”

“Goddammit, we’re not expecting him to leave you. But Tony at least deserves an apology for the way he left.” 

Barnes blinked. “...leave me?”

“He left Tony for you, he’s made his choice.”

“That’s...” Barnes gave a heavy sigh. “That’s not what happened.”

“He left to go to you.”

“Because I was hurt and needed help. And Stark told him if he left, not to come back. But we’re not like that.”

Rhodes narrowed his eyes. “Then why...?”

“Steve is bullheaded and stands by what he thinks is right. He didn’t want to leave for good. He... he still loves Stark.”

Rhodes heart was pounding, seeing a way out of the destruction Tony had sought. “So can’t he just apologize?”

“I told you, he’s bullheaded. Just like Stark, the one who escalated this to a duel.”

Rhodes debated for a moment, then sighed. “Tony’s planning to aim for the sky. He wants Rogers to kill him.”

He hoped the shock on Barnes’ face was a good sign.

_**Number nine**_  
_Look ‘em in the eye, aim no higher_  
_Summon all the courage you require_

Tony watched Barnes head back to Steve, as Rhodey approached him. There was purpose in the one-armed man’s step, and Tony took that to mean the duel was officially a Go.

But when Rhodey reached Tony, his words didn’t make sense. “Rogers and Barnes were never lovers.”

Tony stared at his friend, bewildered. “What?”

“They’re just friends.”

Tony continued to stare, then steeled himself. “Doesn’t matter. He still left me.”

“According to Barnes, he still loves you.”

At the small jolt of hope that gave him, Tony found himself looking over at Steve--who was looking back at him.

There was a grim determination on his former lover’s face.

“Doesn’t look like that to me,” he told Rhodey. “Looks to me like we’re doing this.”

He hoped Steve would aim straight for his heart. He’d already broken it, might as well finish the job.

_Then count_  
_One two three four_  
_Five six seven eight nine_  
_**Number**_  
_**Ten** paces_  
_Fire_

Atop a foggy hill, two men walked ten paces away from each other.

They stopped, turned around, and fired.

Into the air above.

Tony lowered his gun, surprised by how much his hand was shaking.

It seemed like he’d barely blinked when Steve was standing right in front of him, no longer holding his weapon. The determination on the other man’s face was gone, replaced by an agonized expression. “You wanted me to kill you,” the other man said in a pained whisper.

Tony shrugged. His body felt relief at being alive. The rest of him wasn’t sure what to feel.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said.

“For not killing me?” Tony asked, no edge to the words.

“For letting you think I might. For hurting you enough that you thought this was the only way. For making you doubt that I love you.”

“You left me for Barnes.”

“I left to help my friend. I wanted to come back to my lover. I didn’t know you thought I loved him. I should have explained better before I left, should never have let it come to this. I’m sorry.”

Tony swallowed, trying to make this new information make sense in his head. “Does that mean... you’ll come home?”

“If you’ll still have me.”

Atop a foggy hill, two men who had come together for a duel now came together in a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> I considered having a sad or ambiguous ending, but... I wanted something like this to have a happy ending for once.


End file.
